Run, festival aid rare plant

Tuesday

Mar 19, 2013 at 10:57 PM

The Conservancy will host its first “Flytrap Half Hell Haul” – a 7K trail run

By Chanda MarloweCommunity@StarNewsOnline.com

From “Little Shop of Horrors” to “True Blood,” the Venus’ flytrap is always the predator. Yet in our coastal region, it is quickly becoming a desperate victim.The carnivorous plant grows naturally within only a 60-mile radius of Wilmington, and The Nature Conservancy is making every effort to preserve it.The Conservancy will host its first “Flytrap Half Hell Haul” – a 7K trail run through Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve in Brunswick County – to raise awareness about this unique plant. The run starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 23.The race marks the beginning of the daylong Fire in the Lakes Festival, which celebrates the importance of fire to the local ecosystem.The Conservancy’s Angie Carl, who is organizing the race, explained that Half Hell Swamp is the real name of the area on which the Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve is built.“There are lots of colorful names on maps of Southeastern North Carolina,” she said. “We thought it was fitting to revert to the swamp’s true name for this run.”It is not known for certain how the community came to be called Half Hell. According to a 2010 study on Unincorporated Communities by the county’s Planning and Community Development Department, some say the name came from the area’s reputation as a place for illegal activities – an officer felt as if he’d gone “halfway to Hell” when he went there. Others say the name comes from the community’s location – the midway point for people going to Southport to pay taxes.The flytrap thrives in Half Hell’s nutrient-lacking soil. Unlike most plants, it receives its sustenance by trapping live insects. Plant enthusiasts travel from as far as Australia and Tasmania to see the flytrap in its natural territory, which includes the Green Swamp in Brunswick County along with areas in Onslow, Pender and New Hanover counties. Unfortunately, coastal development has destroyed much of the flytrap’s habitat, and fire suppression is taking a toll on the plant as well. Controlled burning is safe and necessary to keep shrub growth down, which helps flytraps get the sun they need.Poachers are another threat. In January, three people were arrested for uprooting this endangered species without permission. But instances like that are decreasing with the help of locals.One student, who had learned about the flytraps in school, helped catch poachers by encouraging his father to call wildlife officers. “The best protection we have is an informed public,” said Debbie Crane, the Nature Conservancy communications director.For more information or to register for the race go to http://its-go-time.com/flytrap-7k-march-23.More information about the Fire in the Lakes festival is available at http://fireinthelakes.weebly.com.